Torres

by Luca Caioli

  GB: ‘The image of Torres, before he went to Liverpool was that of a player-leader of Atlético Madrid and, like Atlético as a whole, inconsistent. He was far from perfect and still needed to improve a lot to reach the level he’d been promising since the age of fourteen. Atlético was a huge weight on his shoulders.’

  What kind of criticism did the Spanish media make?

  SL: ‘The message was that Fernando Torres is an Atlético Madrid player, therefore the Madrid media – the Real Madrid media, because it’s a Real Madrid media in truth not a Madrid city media – quite enjoyed laughing at Fernando Torres, making fun of him. “Oh he’s never going to beat Real Madrid” – “he’s a comedy character” – “we know he’s talented but ha, ha, ha, he’s never going to score”. Torres’ big problem in Spain was that he played for the wrong club and we’ve seen that to some extent with the Spanish national team. That’s because the Spanish national team, in theory, is everybody’s team, but in reality the judgement is still coloured by which team the papers support. So you’ve got Marca (a Spanish sport daily), which says it’s “all for la selección” (the national team), but it’s “all for the Real Madrid players in la selección”. So Torres plays in the national team: “He’s not as good as Raúl” – Raúl doesn’t play in the national team: “It’s a disgrace”.’

  GB: ‘He was criticised because he wasn’t finishing well, he was criticised because he was failing to round off movements, he was criticised because his first touch wasn’t good and he was criticised because, sometimes, he kept hold of the ball too long. But there were also critics making the same kind of comments about Atlético Madrid, that the club never built a good enough team in which Torres could improve. First, there was criticism of the club, which failed to instil any kind of stability while Torres was there, and then of the team. There were a lot of players who avoided their responsibilities and passed them on to Torres instead. And finally, there was criticism of Fernando, above all at the end, when his body language said he was tired and fed up of being there. And he’d been like that for a long time.’

  And how is the image of Torres now in the Spanish media?

  SL: ‘The image now is that Torres is a wonderful player. Torres is now “our boy” doing wonders over there. He’s “our ambassador”. The Spanish are a very proud nation. They are very aware of their own identity and when a Spanish player goes abroad – let’s take Torres – he becomes “Spain’s Fernando Torres”. On top of that, you’ve got the fact that Fernando Torres scored the winning goal in the European championships, the most important goal in 44 years in Spain. That helps … Suddenly, people in Madrid respect him in a way they didn’t respect him before. Now the media is allowed to like him, but he will always have that barrier and that barrier will be “he’s not Real Madrid”. And I think that’s really important when it comes to judging how the media and some of the public see him.’

  GB: ‘Now it’s that of a player who has exceeded even the most optimistic of predictions. He’s turned himself into a global personality, much more than the Spanish national side, a top player and one of the biggest stars in world football.’

  A lot of commentators, not only in the English but also the Spanish media, had doubts about Torres’ chances of success at Liverpool …

  SL: ‘Definitely. Fernando Torres had a very good record at Atlético Madrid, top scorer in every season, but not the record of a guaranteed success. People say that Rafa Benítez bought an obvious player. It wasn’t that obvious. Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t buy him, he wasn’t sure. Fernando Torres had never scored twenty league goals. He hadn’t led a team to huge success. I think Rafa Benítez would be entitled to believe that Fernando Torres’ problem would be Atlético Madrid. And it was right.’

  GB: ‘Well, there were doubts that were justified because the level at which he was playing at Atlético Madrid was average. But there were also doubts in the minds of the people who signed him. He was never the first option for Liverpool – that was Samuel Eto’o. And the actual player harboured doubts as well. He didn’t know if he was able to achieve success straightaway. He knew he could go all the way but he thought it would take a bit longer. The English media weren’t convinced either because they could point to the examples of Spanish players who’d arrived in England and failed, like Fernando Morientes or José Antonio Reyes. Until the arrival of Torres, Spanish strikers hadn’t made much of a case for themselves. In any case, the national media had doubts. However, the Liverpool media and the team’s fans were more open-minded. They went on to embrace him as a big star. “Torres has arrived” they said. They’d seen how he scored goals against Barcelona, they’d seen his speed and the Liverpool supporters, who are very committed to the club, were the ones who had the least worries. But, yes, it’s true that neither the Spanish nor the English press saw the situation very clearly.’

  Why was there this big change between Atlético Madrid and Liverpool?

  SL: ‘Well … maybe, the change is not quite as incredible as it looks. Maybe the change is just from a team that finishes eighth to a team that finishes second, a team that doesn’t play in the Champions League to a team that does. It’s just a little bit more. But I agree with you, I think there is a big change. At Liverpool, he doesn’t have the responsibility. He doesn’t have the pressure. He plays with better players. Steven Gerrard is playing behind him. English football suits him, there’s more space. The game is more physical, it suits Torres’ style, it’s more direct and that game is better for him. The first goal against Real Madrid is almost the perfect portrait of what Fernando Torres has become. Aggressive, strong, powerful, quick – and those are things that people in Spain don’t value and in England we value them very highly.’

  GB : ‘Well, I have my theories on that. One: that he really wanted to leave Atlético and he fancied going to England. The previous summer, before he signed for Liverpool, there were meetings between his representatives and Sir Alex Ferguson but nothing materialised. The following summer, Fernando was absolutely clear in his own mind that he wanted to go to Liverpool. He did everything possible – and impossible – to try to convince Benítez. His representatives, his agent and his friends talked to Rafa and in the end an agreement was reached. Two: that English centre-backs and defences in general – compared with Spanish or Italian – are bad, leaving too much space, and a player who has speed can have a field day. It’s also evident that Torres has improved not only his first touch but also his movement and ability to run with the ball, as well as choosing his moments during a match. And all that comes from working with the best manager in the world.’

  How important is Rafa Benítez in this change?

  SL: ‘Rafa is very important. If you listen to Torres talk, he will tell you that Rafa Benítez is the best coach he’s ever had. And it’s not just because he likes him. It’s because Benítez as a coach is a perfectionist. A lot of coaches are not coaches, they’re the people who put players on the pitch. Benítez is a teacher, he’s explained to Fernando Torres how to make the right moves, how to fit the system of the team, how to play defenders, make the run left, the next time right. You also have to remember that part of Benítez’s success is because of Torres. He’s very receptive to ideas, he listens and he’s intelligent. He’s got a player who thinks about the game.’

  GB: ‘Very important, because Benítez is a real pain. He succeeds in improving a player through a regimen of repetition, repetition, repetition – of ideas and exercises. Torres is absolutely clear on this. He recognises the tremendous work of his manager. For sure, Luis Aragonés had more influence on his career and taught him a lot when he was young but it’s much more difficult to learn when you’re already an international and been captain of your team. It’s really hard to learn at this stage – at least if you haven’t come across Benítez.’

  And he’s also done good psychological work with him …

  SL: ‘Without any doubt. Fernando Torres at Liverpool is a different psychological player to the on
e he was at Atlético Madrid. Torres felt that at Madrid all the pressure, all the blame and all the responsibility was his. At Liverpool, other players have it. El Niño has become an idol at Liverpool and the fans really love him. But they don’t expect him to do everything on his own. At Atlético Madrid, the fans expected that. And also at Atlético Madrid, there is fatalism while at Liverpool there’s hope.’

  GB: ‘I don’t think psychology is Benítez’s greatest strength. Psychology comes from confidence and confidence from improvement. No, Benítez isn’t a manager who tells Torres every day that ‘you are the best’, but Torres sees it and Torres isn’t someone who lacks confidence. He finds himself in a style of football that suits him perfectly, with a team that’s ready to play for him, with long balls, taking advantage of his speed and getting behind the defence. The psychology comes of its own accord.’

  What about the image of Fernando in the English media?

  SL: ‘Right now, the image is of a player who is possibly the best striker in Europe, a phenomenally good footballer. He’s an athlete. He’s fast, he’s strong, he’s powerful. He looks like a baby in his face but he’s a really strong man. An aspect that people don’t talk about often enough is his intelligence. He’s very bright, he’s willing to learn, he listens to Rafa Benítez, he listens to his coaches, he does what he’s told to do and he’s very committed. He is much more humble than people sometimes think. He’s a very sensible, intelligent individual. His defects? Right now I don’t think he has a defect. OK, he needs to be better with his left foot, he needs fewer injuries, but maybe we are asking too much. What we’re seeing now at Liverpool is that Torres is the perfect player for the perfect team. For example, Fernando Torres at Barcelona would not be the same player because Fernando Torres wants space in front of him, he wants to be able to run into gaps. If you play with a team like Barcelona – touch-touch, pass-pass – it’s intricate, it’s clever, it’s angles. It’s much harder for Torres. Even when there are criticisms, they are positive as well. One criticism of Liverpool is that they need more players like Fernando Torres.’

  GB: ‘In England, you don’t have to do very much to be a big star. If you have something that others don’t, then you’re big. For example, Cesc (Fabregas) is young – in the Arsenal team he’s a leader, he knows what to do with the ball, he’s the player who controls the midfield, who makes the perfect pass and he’s a star. The same thing’s happened to Torres. He scores, he begins to notch up goals one after the other, and now he’s the best striker in the world. But in reality, he isn’t. With all respect and the great affection I have for him – I’ve also talked about it with him – he is one of the greatest but he still has to improve. The truth is that in England they know very well how to sell their own, or rather, how to sell the players that play in their league. If Torres had the same statistics in La Liga in Spain, he wouldn’t be the best in the world. No, here they’re very good at selling. And they’re amazed when Cesc isn’t playing for the Spanish national side. “Come on, that can’t be right,” they tell you in England. With this in mind, it’s interesting the interpretation that the English media put on the Euro 2008 final when, because of Villa’s misfortune, Cesc was selected and Torres scored the winning goal. Here, they say they won because these two were selected and because they were playing in their favourite positions.’

  What does Fernando Torres now represent in English football and at Liverpool in particular?

  SL: ‘In a way, Torres represents the supremacy of English football, as Cristiano Ronaldo does, but Torres more so. We are the league that gets the best players. The Spanish league is strong but we took Torres from the Spanish league and we brought him to England. Cristiano Ronaldo is different. He might be the best player in the world but Cristiano Ronaldo went to Manchester United very young. Torres is a demonstration of the fact that the English league can attract the best players. Now I know we said that at Atlético Madrid maybe he wasn’t the best player but he was a big star.

  ‘Torres demonstrates the strength of the English league and the fact that young, talented players at the top of their game will come to England. He’s shown us that we can develop a more European style – even though I think his style is quite English. We are showing we can bring these players in and we can have success with them. There was a time when we felt in England we would buy a good player, he would come to England and he wouldn’t succeed. Now we’re seeing that we’re buying good players and they succeed because they adapt to us but also the English league is adapting to European football.

  ‘Torres is an indication of the fact that the English league can create loyalty – not have loyalty, create loyalty. You’ve got a player there who’s come to Liverpool and he feels like a Liverpool player now. I think that happens maybe more than it does in Spain and that brings us to what he means for Liverpool. Torres is the nearest thing to Kenny Dalglish because Liverpool has had some brilliant players in their time. They’ve also bought some brilliant players – John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, John Aldridge. But it’s a long time since Liverpool bought a player who the fans think is amazing.

  ‘If you look at Liverpool’s favourite players over the last ten years – Michael Owen, from Liverpool; Robbie Fowler, from Liverpool; Steve McManaman, from Liverpool; Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, from Liverpool. Fernando Torres is probably the first player for a decade that has been brought to Liverpool and everyone has gone, “Bloody hell, this guy is brilliant.” It’s important because it shows Liverpool fans they can bring in great players, they can make great players work and they can start having faith in buying footballers. Kenny Dalglish, although he came from Scotland, was still a bought player. He was the player who was supposed to replace Kevin Keegan and went on to be probably the greatest-ever Liverpool player. Now Liverpool fans won’t say Torres is the best player who’s ever played for them. There’s Steven Gerrard, Graeme Souness, possibly Robbie Fowler because of what he represents, Kenny Dalglish and so on. But I think Torres is possibly the best player Liverpool has bought in ten or fifteen years.

  ‘I think Torres has known how to embrace Liverpool as a club. I did an interview with him not long ago and he said to me that when he turned up he watched videos of Liverpool’s history. He read books about Liverpool’s history and the fans really appreciate that. They appreciate someone who cares, not just someone who plays. I think Fernando Torres has had the intelligence, the decency and the commitment to take Liverpool to heart. Obviously, if he’d gone to Manchester United, he might have done the same but Liverpool fans don’t care about that – he came to Liverpool and he’s done all of that. One of the reasons he’s done that is Rafa Benítez understands what Liverpool is, Xabi Alonso understands what Liverpool is. Rafa Benítez and Xabi Alonso have very intelligent advisers who are Liverpool fans, and who have been able to explain the Liverpool process, and Fernando Torres has built on that and learned from them.

  ‘So Fernando Torres represents for Liverpool, in one word, hope. Torres has brought real hope to Liverpool fans, probably more hope than they’ve had for a long, long time.’

  GB: ‘Torres is the leap forward that the people of Liverpool think will enable them to win everything. Before, they had Gerrard – one of the best midfielders in the world – Hyppia, Skrtel, Xabi Alonso – all top-level players. But with Torres they think he has brought them that extra touch. They have the goalscorer who makes them candidates for everything. He represents the hope, but, more objectively, the possibility of winning, of making all those dreams they’ve had for so many years come true.’

  Now, the future. Someone said he’s still got a lot more improving to do.

  SL: ‘I think sometimes we talk about improvement and we’re wrong. Sometimes we talk about improvement as if this player will get better and better and better. It’s not a question of getting better, it’s a question of repeating the same thing. For example, when Ryan Giggs started with Manchester United at eighteen years old – brilliant. When he was 25, people said, y
es, he’s good, he’s OK. Why? Because when he was eighteen, they thought he would keep getting better. But he just carried on being the same. That was still brilliant but people expected too much. The expectation was more than the player could give.

  ‘Fernando Torres is 25. He’s in a team that’s been to a European Cup semi-final. He’s on course maybe to do it again. He’s in a team challenging for the league and he’s scored the most important goal in Spanish football history. In another ten years time, if he wins another European championship with Spain, or a World Cup, or a European Cup with Liverpool – that’s not really improving, it’s just repeating the same thing – then he will be a true great.

  ‘It’s not really that he’s going to get better, it’s that he has the attitude and the mentality to maintain what’s already a fantastically good level. It’s like Leo Messi. Everyone says he’s going to get better. No he’s not. But it doesn’t matter because he’s already absolutely brilliant.’

  GB: ‘He’s seven out of 10. On a psychological level, confidence helps him a lot. He controls the ball well but he has to improve because he won’t have that speed all his life. He must perfect his first touch and finishing. His future? Fernando won’t leave Liverpool until they’ve won a league title – he’s very aware that it’s fundamental for the fans. Then after that he’ll want another and a Champions League. At Liverpool, they like him a lot and he likes Liverpool a lot. He’s immersed himself in the club philosophy and the city. I lived in Liverpool for eight years and it’s a mesmerising city. Once you enter its atmosphere it makes you want to stay. It’s also true that Liverpool is not Atlético Madrid, the team of his life, but we’ll see. Now, in England, Torres has very clear objectives.’